The third pea
by Snavej
Summary: Lin is off on holiday but that does not stop Noll taking a case - much to Mai's displeasure. They find themselves in a victorian property with no client - what was Noll thinking?
1. Chapter 1

"Naru, I really don't think this is a good idea," Mai insisted with her hands on her hips.

"Why?" Noll asked in reply, though he was not really paying attention to her words.

"Lin isn't here," Mai said. "We shouldn't take the case without him."

"I have had a driving licence for several years now, I am perfectly capable of driving the van."

"That isn't what I'm worried about!" Mai huffed.

"Then what is?" Noll asked. He was still reading the document in front of him.

"Lin is always there on a case! What if you-"

"What if I what, Mai? Yasuhara will be there," Noll interrupted. "Besides, just because Madoka has finally dragged Lin away from his keyboard does not mean we'll sit around for a week twiddling our thumbs."

Mai scowled and stalked out of his office, slamming the door behind her. Noll looked up and frowned slightly before looking back at the document. It was the insurance to put both him and Yasuhara on the van for the week that Lin was away. It seemed to be in order.

Mai was talking very loudly to Yasuhara on the other side of the office door. Noll couldn't quite make out what she was saying, but her tone of voice was unmissable. She was annoyed with him.

For a moment, Noll pondered if it was her intuition speaking. But that thought was squashed immediately, Mai would have said if it was because she knew he would have listened to her then.

Perhaps he ought to have told Mai the truth, but it was better this way. She could claim ignorance to Lin and the rest of SPR.

* * *

"Is this it Boss?" Yasuhara asked. He'd been driving for the last two hours, having taken over from Noll.

"Yes," Noll replied from the middle seat. Mai was sat resolutely staring out of the window and ignoring them both.

Yasuhara parked the van on the drive and climbed out. The sun was still high in the sky; they'd made good time.

"Mai, you need to get out now," Noll intoned. Without climbing over the gearstick he would be unable to get out the same side as Yasuhara.

Mai, without so much as looking around at him, huffed and opened her door before sliding out. She walked up to the front doors of the victorian style house and knocked.

No one answered.

"There's no one home," she called to the others. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"If you'd paid any attention during the briefing, you'd know that the clients refused to stay here any longer," Noll said. "I have the key."

He strode up to the door, waited for Mai to step aside and then unlocked it. Noll walked inside, appraising the decor and layout. Mai had followed him in, leaving Yasuhara with the van.

"This room has a few plug points, shall we have a base here?" Mai asked. She indicated the room to her right.

Noll looked around and studied the room Mai had suggested before nodding. Mai headed outside to help Yasuhara unload. Noll watched her go before looking back around at the house. The hallway had rooms coming off either side with the grand staircase at one end. He knew the upstairs would mirror this floor from plans he'd acquired.

"Are you going to help?" Mai muttered as she pushed past him with an armful of shelving units.

Noll did not answer but turned to collect things from the van. Yasuhara sent him a look as they passed each other but Noll ignored it. He had no desire to discuss Mai's attitude.

Bringing everything in took longer than usual due to the lack of extra hands, but between them, they managed well enough.

"Where are we going to sleep?" Mai asked. She was clutching her sleeping bag under one arm and her overnight bag in the other.

"In here," Noll replied. "There are only three of us, I do not feel that splitting up is wise until we understand the situation."

"We wouldn't have had a problem if we'd invited the others," Mai muttered in a low voice. Noll ignored her yet again. Yasuhara glanced from one to the other nervously as if expecting a fight.

"Shall I make tea?" he asked in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

Both Mai and Noll gave him a look of disgust.

"If we are going to suffer here I am not having it due to your tea making skills," Mai said, smiling at her friend. "Come on, I'll make some."

Mai and Yasuhara fumbled their way to the kitchen, where they boiled a dusty kettle and made tea.

"I don't understand it," Yasuhara said finally. "Usually, you complain at the Boss for not helping people, now you're complaining that he is!" He leant against the kitchen table with his arms folded, waiting for Mai to respond.

Mai scowled.

"What people? There are no clients here! And none have come in recently that fit this description. And Lin isn't here. He hasn't invited Bou-san, Ayako, Masako or John either." She frowned. "I just don't like it."

"We've taken cases without them before," Yasuhara pointed out. "Well, not without Lin."

Mai looked like she wanted to say more, but shook her head instead.

"Let's get this tea back to that narcissistic idiot."

They took the tea through and drank in silence for a while. Noll broke it first.

"Mai, I want you to check his plan of the house is accurate. Yasuhara, take the cameras and set them up. I'll coordinate the feeds from here."

Mai all but snatched the blueprints from Noll's hands and stalked off with a tape measure.

Yasuhara sighed and picked up some of the camera equipment.

"Where do you want me to focus them?" he asked Noll.

"Everywhere, aiming to cover as much of the house as possible," Noll replied.

Yasuhara sighed again and trooped off. He set up cameras on the ground floor and ran the cables back to the base before taping them down. Mai really didn't need any more trip hazards - she fell over enough as it was...

Mai was upstairs measuring the bedrooms when Yasuhara began lugging cameras up.

"How's it going?"

"Fine," she mumbled in reply. "These look right."

"Great," Yasuhara replied. "I don't fancy any more secret cavities in old buildings with creepy spirits living in them to be honest."

Mai smiled.

"Yeah, that would be bad," she said.

Yasuhara continued with the cameras. He noted the house looked like it had been empty for a while. It was almost like a show home that had never been cleaned after it'd been set up. The beds were made and looked beautiful. He half expected to find chocolates on the pillow.

Finally, they were all set up and sat in the base waiting for something to happen. Mai had taken to making cups of tea out of boredom, not that Noll had complained.

"I'm going for a walk around," Mai announced after they'd eaten their dinner.

"Yasuhara, go with her," Noll instructed without looking away from the screens.

Mai rolled her eyes, but did not protest. She wanted to get out of the base. The reckless part of her brain had suggested that the sooner she gets in trouble, the sooner they can work out what was going on so they could end it.

"Has your intuition told you anything?" Yasuhara asked hopefully as Mai wandered into one of the bedrooms.

"Nope."

Mai walked to the window and looked out. Yasuhara joined her a moment later. They could see down to the road and a little way up the street.

"Is that Boss by the van?"

Mai squinted through the darkness.

"Looks like it, maybe he forgot his manners and common sense in the van and went back for them." She scowled, then relaxed. "Sorry. I shouldn't let it get to me."

"You don't like it here?"

"I don't like that we're here," Mai corrected. "Without the others. It feels wrong."

"It'll be alright, Big Boss wouldn't have brought us here without good reason," Yasuhara pointed out. "Let's just do our best, yeah?"

"Yeah," Mai agreed. She smiled and together they bounded out of the room, down the stairs and back to the base, where Noll was sat staring at the screens.

"Did you find what you'd forgotten Boss?"

"Hmm?"

"From the van?"

"What?" Noll frowned.

"We saw you by the van," Mai cut in. "Was that not you?"

"I have not left this room."

"Well someone was at the van," Mai protested.

"Should I go and check it out?" Yasuhara offered.

"No, I'll go," Noll insisted. "Stay here and watch the cameras."

Mai ignored this instruction and instead rushed to the window. She watched Noll leave the house and walk down the van. He inspected it from every side and looked up and down the road before shaking his head.

"It did look just like him," Mai muttered.

"It did," Yasuhara agreed. "But it's getting dark. It could have been anyone."

"Yeah," Mai mumbled. She flopped onto a dusty sofa and coughed at the plume of dust. "I wonder if here is a vacuum cleaner anywhere."

"I haven't seen one."

"And we are not here to clean," Noll added, having returned from the van. "There was nothing there, nor anything wrong with the van. I imagine you saw a curious neighbour."

Mai chose to ignore him.

"I guess so," Yasuhara said. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"Any signs of paranormal activity," Noll replied with a sigh. He scooped up his book and dropped into the sofa at the opposite end to Mai.

"What did the client experience?" Mai asked.

But Noll already had his head in his book. Mai snatched it from his hands.

"What did the client experience?" she repeated.

"Door slamming, things moving and odd sounds," Noll listed. He snatched his book back and flicked back through it to his page.

Mai rolled her eyes and jumped up to join Yasuhara at the cameras.

"This would make the worst drinking game," Yasuhara mumbled. "Drink for any supernatural activity."

They both stared at the unchanging screens for a minute.

"How about for anything happening at all ever?" Mai suggested.

Yasuhara laughed.

They were in for a long night.

* * *

 **Author's note: If anyone guesses what the title means I will be so impressed. I know I said I would finish Blind Hope first but this just sort of happened. I realise this chapter is just the very set up, but the next bit would be too long to put here so I think breaking them up works best!**

 **Please review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

There was something about the small hours of the morning that made everything slightly creepy. Mai and Yasuhara were watching the video feeds while Noll slept on the sofa behind them.

"This is how I like him best," Mai muttered with a sly glance to their boss.

"Unconscious?"

"He can't insult me this way," she replied with a snigger. "Or demand tea."

Yasuhara stifled his laugh.

"If you stopped doing stupid things, I wouldn't feel the need to point them out," a low voice said.

Mai jumped out of her seat only to realise it was Noll who had spoken. Yasuhara did not withhold his laughter this time and Noll smirked.

"Well if you're awake you can watch the screens! You're not the only one who is tired!" Mai retorted with a scowl.

"Sure, all that strenuous thinking must have tired you out," Noll said as he sat up. His hair was ruffled up from where he'd been lying on one side.

Mai was so tired that she did not argue. Noll vacated the sofa as Mai unpacked her sleeping bag. Noll hadn't used one but slept in his clothes with his head on a cushion.

Mai fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the cushion. Noll, who had been stretching his legs, walked over and pulled her sleeping bag up so she was covered sufficiently. Yasuhara watched the action with a small smile before quickly turning back to the screens.

"Anything yet?" Noll asked quietly.

"Nope, but I know Mai isn't happy about this," Yasuhara replied. "She said it wasn't her intuition, but I'm not sure she's being honest."

"What makes you say that?"

"Just how she was behaving before," Yasuhara said. "Maybe I'm reading too much into it."

Noll scanned the screens before taking his seat.

"Mai made a flask of tea, there's probably some left," Yasuhara said, indicating the silver flask on the desk.

Noll took it and poured out a lukewarm cup of tea. He drank some in the hope it would wake him up a little.

"You can sleep if you want," he suggested to Yasuhara. "I don't expect any activity tonight."

"It's okay," Yasuhara said as he sat back in his chair. "Why did we take this case?"

Noll did not reply. Yasuhara looked around, expecting to find Noll ignoring him, but his Boss was staring avidly at one of the screens.

"There," he said, pointing. "Rewind camera ten."

Yasuhara hurried to comply. The video reversed and began playing again. The two young men watched as something moved in the shadows.

"An animal?" Yasuhara suggested.

"None of the windows are open."

Yasuhara reversed the tape again and played it at half speed.

"It looks vaguely humanoid," Yasuhara commented. Noll was taking a note of the timestamp in his notebook. "But there are no details. Should we put the lights on?"

"No, I suspect it would not appear if we did ."

Yasuhara frowned at Noll but had no chance to question it when a large bang was heard from above.

Mai sat bolt upright and struggled to release herself from the confines of the sleeping bag.

"What was that?"

Yasuhara was searching the screens for any physical cause of the noise.

"Door slammed," he said finally, pointing to screen twelve. "But there is no other movement."

"Curious."

"Curious?" Mai repeated quietly. Yasuhara caught her tone and they shared a concerned look.

"What should we do Boss?"

"Go back to sleep, Mai," Noll said. "We keep watching."

"Boss, we don't have an exorcist with us, if there is something here-"

"No point," Noll said. "None of our exorcists could do anything."

"What do you mean Naru?"

"I have my suspicions about what this is," he said. "But we need more evidence."

Mai and Yasuhara shared another look.

"What do you think it is?"

"Go back to sleep, Mai," Noll repeated. "I'll know once we have more evidence."

Discontented, Mai lay back down. She watched the screens from the sofa, but nothing else happened and slowly, she drifted back off.

Yasuhara woke Mai up at around 5 AM so that he could get a little more sleep. Mai made a fresh flask of tea to share with Noll and they sat in silence watching the screens. The sun rose slowly and light filled the room despite the curtains covering the window.

"Naru, I think that camera has fallen over," Mai said, pointing at one of the screens. Sure enough, the image on the screen was wonky.

"I will go and correct it," Noll said. "Stay here with Yasuhara."

"But-"

"Watch my progress on the cameras," Noll said, cutting across her words as he picked up a walkie talkie. "If anything happens, wake up Yasuhara and come together."

Noll ignored Mai's hissed protests and left the base. Mai scowled and turned back to the screens. She watched his progress up the stairs and down the corridor towards the bedroom where the camera had fallen - the same bedroom where the door had slammed in the night.

But when he was about to turn into the room, he changed direction and turned left instead of right, into the opposite room.

"Naru," Mai said through the walkie-talkie. "That's the wrong room."

"Well, the camera has fallen over in here."

The screen's image turned as Noll returned the camera stand to its upright position.

"Then the screens are in the wrong order," Mai said. "No, wait, the doors on the wrong side- What…?"

"Mai? What is it?"

"Naru, you're in both rooms," Mai whispered. She stared between the two screens that covered the two bedrooms. "I think there must be a glitch."

"I am going to wave in front of the camera," Noll's voice said from the walkie-talkie. "Did you see it?"

"Yeah, on screen twelve but… You just did it on screen thirteen too. There must be a delay and we hooked up the same camera twice."

"Not possible, those cameras only have one output feed." There was a silence. "I will go and look in the other room."

"No, wait!" Mai shouted. "Wait I'll come up!"

"No, remain there," Noll insisted. Mai's face screwed up in anguish as she watched her Boss walk to the door on both camera feeds, one the mirror of the other. Mai sucked in a breath as Noll's hand touched the doorknob in one feed and then the other a second later.

One of the Noll's opened the door. But when Mai looked to the other, he had gone.

"It's gone Naru, the other you, it just disappeared."

"I'm coming down, wait there."

Mai rolled her eyes. Where else was she supposed to go? Instead, she reversed the two tapes and watched them again.

"No…" she mumbled. Noll entered the base. "But you were just there!"

"What?"

Mai reversed the footage again.

"You were on both screen twelve and thirteen," she said before hitting play. "But now…"

"Screen thirteen shows no activity," Noll surmised, his own eyes flicking back and forth between the screens.

"I swear it happened," Mai said quickly.

Noll nodded.

Yasuhara stirred behind them. Mai looked around.

"Should we wake him?"

"No."

Mai frowned at Noll.

"What do you think it is?" she asked quietly.

He didn't answer but replayed the tapes again. He then switched on the thermal imaging camera and viewed the same timestamp. Both rooms appeared a few degrees colder than the rest of the house.

"The only evidence we have is the temperature drop," he muttered. "Some will dispute even that due to my abilities…"

It struck Mai that Noll was not talking to her at all but to himself. Grumbling, she mentioned she was going to make more tea before stalking out of the base and towards the kitchen.

The smell of the teabags helped her relax a little as she waited for the kettle to boil. What had that been? A glitch in the electronics? Sleep deprivation catching up with her? Or… Something else?

"We ought to start breakfast," a voice said behind her.

Mai jumped and spun around.

"Naru! Don't sneak up on me like that!" she admonished. "I thought we were waiting until Yasuhara woke up. Talking of Yasuhara, you shouldn't have left him alone and asleep!"

"Would you cook something?" Noll asked, ignoring her reprimand.

Mai turned around as the kettle boiled to pour the water into the cups.

"I can put some rice on if you want," she said as she poured.

"Mai?" a voice called from the corridor. Mai looked around. Naru was no longer in the kitchen. "Who are you talking to?"

He was in the corridor and walking towards her as if he'd only just come from the base.

"I was talking to you…" Mai said slowly. Her frowned deepened as she looked around the kitchen and finally to where Noll stood in the doorway. "Nothing. I must be tired."

Noll studied her face for a moment.

"I've woken Yasuhara up, he'll come and assist with breakfast in a moment."

"Sure," Mai replied. "Here's your tea."

She handed the cup over and turned to look for the rice.

* * *

 **Author's note: Okay so I asked you to guess about the title and one person was disturbingly close! But not quite! Though maybe this chapter will make it a little more obvious?**

 **Please review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"So you think the spirit is imitating the Boss?"

"Well, what else can explain it?" Mai replied. Yasuhara frowned, deep in thought. "It's that or I'm seeing things."

"Well, have you thought that… Well, maybe it could, you know… His brother?"

"Gene?" Mai shook her head. "I don't think so. He wouldn't mess around like this, not to actually scare us."

"Unless he's turned sour," Yasuhara countered. "He's been hanging around a while now."

"No, he couldn't have…" But Mai looked horrified. "Oh no, what if he has?"

Yasuhara grimaced.

"We should call someone else," he said quietly after checking the cameras. Noll had gone to the bathroom and they were taking this opportunity to discuss the case without his evasive answers.

"Call Lin," Mai said. "He'd know what to do and if he doesn't, Madoka is with him. Between them, they could-"

The door opened.

Mai sat up, suddenly realising how she and Yasuhara must look. They had huddled together conspiratorily.

"Anything?" Noll asked, indicating the feeds.

"No," Mai replied. "Nothing at all."

"I want you to go and take temperature readings to verify those we see on the thermal imaging cameras," Noll said. "I'll watch the feeds while you two do that, take the walkie-talkie."

Yasuhara jumped up and grabbed the device while Mai fished the thermometer out of one of the bags. Once he'd checked the walkie-talkie had enough battery to last, he led Mai out of the base.

Once out of earshot of Noll, they started speaking again, though quietly.

"Maybe I'll get one of those dreams," Mai said hopefully. "That might clear some things up."

"Yeah," Yasuhara agreed. "That'd be good."

Mai scribbled down the temperature on the roughly drawn chart and they moved to the next room.

"I still think we should call someone," Mai said. "Have you got your mobile on you?"

Yasuhara fished it out of his pocket.

"Boss is watching us, though," he muttered. "Boss could be listening if he's turned the mics up."

"Text them then."

Yasuhara typed as Mai continued to take measurements. He then showed her his screen, with his back to the camera to shield it from Noll's view.

Mai read the text and nodded. Yasuhara sent it to Lin before slipping his phone back in his pocket.

"It'll be alright."

"I just hope you're right."

Mai led the way up the stairs and down the corridor. Yasuhara held the door to the furthest bedroom open and Mai entered. This was the room that the fake Noll had been seen in.

"It doesn't feel any different in here," Mai said. "It's not like the Urado mansion, you could feel when things were wrong there. It feels like a normal home." She screwed up her face as if trying to find the right words. "I think it's messing with me, or at the very least, my abilities."

Yasuhara frowned, obviously concerned.

"We'll get some more people here, that'll help," he said. "They might notice something we haven't."

"Yeah," Mai said, she tried to smile but couldn't help like it fell a little short.

When the arrived back at the base, Noll was frowning deeply.

"Here are the readings," Mai said as she handed him the piece of paper. "They look to be consistent."

Noll glanced them over before slotting the sheet of paper in his notebook.

"Mai, tea," he mumbled. His focus still on the screens. "Yasuhara, stay here."

"Boss, are you sure?"

Noll did not dignify the question with a response. Mai sighed and headed to the kitchen with the walkie-talkie. She gave the camera a sarcastic little wave while waiting for the kettle to boil.

Ten minutes later, she made her way back with several cups of tea and the flask with the remaining liquid to save for later.

Noll took his tea without thanks and began scribbling in his notebook.

"Care to share?"

"Not really," he replied. "Care to explain why you contacted Lin?"

"Don't know what you're talking about," Mai said quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly.

"Of course, you don't," Noll muttered. "I don't suspect we'll get any more activity during the day."

"You said that last night about activity on the first night."

Noll looked around at these words.

"So I did," he said. "I'm going to walk around. Stay here." He downed his tea and stood up with a walkie-talkie in one hand and his notebook in the other.

"I suppose there is no point telling you that you shouldn't go alone?" Mai asked his retreating figure.

He walked out without a word.

"Guess not," Yasuhara said. "This must be important to him."

"Yeah," Mai agreed. She watched Noll walk around the house. He routinely checked all of the cameras as he entered each room. "Can you watch the feeds? I'm gonna try and contact Gene."

"You think you'll be able to?"

"No, but I want to try," Mai said with a determined air. She was definitely tired enough to need a nap. "Wake me if anything happens."

She did not bother to climb into her sleeping bag and chose to lay on top of it instead. Closing her eyes, she willed herself not only to sleep but also for Gene to make an appearance.

* * *

Noll strode around the house from room to room. He checked the cameras to reassure Mai and Yasuhara that his walk was not entirely unnecessary. The cameras were all fine. He knew they would be. The being here did not care about the cameras. It did not affect it, for now.

Mai had seen it. Yet Yasuhara had not.

Was it due to Mai's abilities? Or pure luck? Noll did not know. His one attempt to split this two employees up had not resulted in any activity. He would leave them together for now. It was safer that way.

But what to do about their contacting Lin. He knew it would be inevitable that they would. He'd known as soon as he'd taken the case. Yet he'd hoped to get more than one night under his belt before they'd done so.

Perhaps Lin and Madoka would be too busy to come. It was an idle hope and Noll knew not to put any weight into it.

However, if Madoka came too… Madoka would potentially appreciate the opportunity. She might argue his side. If he could get some solid evidence before they arrived, which realistically could be a matter of hours, then he might have a chance at persuading Madoka. She, in turn, could persuade Lin not to force an abandon of this rare chance.

Oliver collected his thoughts.

He needed more activity to get evidence. But how could he provoke it… So far, he had not needed to provoke anything. The being seemed happy to oblige. Yet he'd been alone when it had occurred. Perhaps that was the key?

He had only one concern. Earlier, he'd tried to use one of Mai's belongings to access her memory of what she'd seen. True, a psychometric would not hold up as evidence, but it would provide him with an idea of what the being was doing.

But it had not worked.

Oliver had never had an issue like that before. Not if he'd wanted it. Usually, the visions came so willingly that he had to stop them. They were the water in a weak dam that was held up by the sheer force of his free will.

The scientific part of his brain reasoned that if one of his abilities was on the blink, the other might also be. He wanted to test it.

The sensible part of his brain pointed out that if his PK was still fully functioning, then he could end up in a hospital and lose his chance at collecting any more evidence at all.

Oliver noted his thoughts down and continued his walk.

* * *

The astral plane was empty. Mai stood alone in a ray of light that didn't really have a source. There were occasional glowing orbs floating peacefully around.

"Gene?" Mai called out. There was no immediate reply.

She stepped forward into the nothingness with a vague plan to go looking for the twin.

"Gene?" she called again.

Tears of frustration rose in her eyes and she wiped them away angrily. She ran into the abyss, yet no matter how far or how fast, nothing seemed to change. For all she knew, she hadn't moved at all.

"Gene!" she yelled.

But he wasn't coming. She was alone in the astral plane with the little white orbs of light. With no sight of her friend or the spirit that was plaguing them.

Mai fell to her knees and screwed up her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears. The overwhelming sense that her abilities were utterly useless plagued her thoughts.

But that was a lie. She knew that was a lie. She knew she'd helped on several occasions. She could help now too. Somehow.

"What would Gene do?" she asked herself. "If he was here… He'd show me something useful. But he's not." Taking deep breaths, she willed for something to happen. For a vision to appear.

Alas, nothing happened.

When she looked up, the astral plane seemed darker than before. Darker and lonelier.

"Gene?" Mai whimpered one last time. "Please be okay…"

* * *

 **Author's note: Well, I am loving all of your guesses! Some people are really close and then they veer off into other ideas! But I'm glad, it means I am giving away enough for you to be able to get it! Other people... Are really off the mark, but maybe this chapter will have cleared things up a little?**

 **Please review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Yasuhara was extremely glad when Mai finally woke from her nap.

"Can you watch the cameras? I really need to relieve myself."

"Sure," Mai replied with a yawn. She stretched up and wiped her eyes. True to form, a few tears had leaked from her real eyes when she'd cried in the astral plane. Yasuhara noticed nothing as he darted out of the room.

Mai ambled her way to the camera feeds and tried to focus on the screens in front of her. A yawn stole her concentration momentarily.

"Anything yet?"

Mai looked around, too tired to be shocked, to find Noll standing in the doorway.

"No, I don't think so." She looked back around at the screens, not wanting to neglect her duty in front of her boss. "I'll make you tea in a minute if you want."

She glanced back around, knowing Noll was more likely to nod than speak. But he'd gone.

"I'm imagining things," Mai muttered. She tried to wipe her eyes again, expecting more sleepy dust. She then spotted Noll in one of the bedrooms on the cameras.

"Thanks," Yasuhara said as he rejoined Mai. "Did you manage to contact Gene?"

"No," Mai said, distraught. "It was empty. He wasn't there. I tried looking for him but…"

"It isn't looking good, is it?" Yasuhara pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Still no reply from Lin and Madoka either."

Mai swore under her breath as she tracked Noll's progress.

"I keep seeing duplicates," Mai mumbled. "One was here just while you were out."

"Really?"

"Yeah, asked if anything had happened."

"It's odd," Yasuhara said. He rested his head in his hands for a moment while he stared blankly at the screens. "I don't think it's Gene. If he'd turned bad he'd be trying to mess with us more."

"Well that thing with the two of them in the two rooms was pretty creepy!"

"Yeah, but before you said the duplicate Boss asked about food or the case? It's almost like it's trying to fit in with us."

"You think whatever it is, that it's lonely?"

"Perhaps?" Yasuhara replied. "I don't know. It doesn't help that you never know if you're talking to the real Boss or not."

Noll was making his way down the stairs. Mai watched him with a frown.

"You haven't seen it, though?"

"No," Yasuhara admitted. "I don't think so."

"I wonder why…"

Noll entered the base and came to look at the screens.

"Well?"

"Nothing," Yasuhara said. "But I can check the thermal feeds if you want?"

"If you would," Noll said as he took a seat. "Mai, tea."

Mai didn't even bother to scowl as she scooped up the empty cups and headed for the kitchen. She flicked the kettle on and began to wash up the cups, lost in her own thoughts.

Then a strange buzzing caught her notice.

Like a fly, it seemed to hum. Mai swatted around her head, just in case it really was a fly.

Then sounds broke through the buzzing.

"...ai? Mai!"

Mai spun around. Noll was standing in the kitchen with the flask in one hand.

"Have you gone deaf?"

"I didn't hear you," she replied weakly. "Sorry… Must have been caught up in my own thoughts."

Mai expected an insult, but Noll only frowned at her.

"Here, fill this up too."

He passed her the flask and left the kitchen.

* * *

"Mai saw the thing again," Yasuhara told Noll when he returned from the kitchen. "I slipped out to go to the loo."

"And it's appearance?"

"She said it looked just like you."

"I see," Noll said. "It's appearances only seem to affect Mai."

"Yeah, we'd noticed that too," Yasuhara said. "There was nothing on the thermal feeds. Except, a slight temperature drop in the corridor outside this room. I presume when it appeared to see Mai?"

Noll nodded and scribbled in his notebook for a moment.

"Have you had a reply from Lin?"

"No." Yasuhara saw no point in lying.

"Good."

"Why are you so against them coming along?"

"I am not," Noll said. "But they are on a scheduled break from work. It would be rude to interrupt them."

Mai returned at that moment with three cups of tea and the flask under one arm.

"Describe the appearance of the being you saw while Yasuhara was indisposed," Noll requested.

Mai took a seat before answering.

"It looked exactly like you," she replied. "Same hair, facial expression, clothing… If you'd been standing next to each other, I could not have told you apart."

"That is nothing to be surprised at. I have a lot of experience in being confused for someone else," Noll muttered.

Mai looked hurt at his words but did not speak. She sat back and drank some of her tea.

"It isn't Gene," she said finally. "I can't even contact him."

"I know," Noll replied. He too had tried to contact his twin though the bathroom mirror but to no avail.

"So what do we do now, Boss?"

"We keep watching, and waiting."

And so they did. The trio took turns at staring at the screens, but nothing happened until after lunch.

"Naru! The camera in the bedroom has fallen over again!"

Noll looked up from where he was sat on the sofa. He deposited his book and stood up.

"I see," he said. "I will go and correct it."

"Sure, Boss? I don't mind going?" Yasuhara offered.

"No, stay here."

Noll scooped up the walkie-talkie and headed out.

"I have the worst sense of deja-vu right now," Mai muttered. "I swear if the thing does it again I'm going to freak out so much."

"Well I'm watching this time," Yasuhara said. "Nothing happens if I'm about so we should be fine."

"Yeah." Mai did not sound convinced.

Nervously, they watched Noll's progression up the stairs. His stature showed no nerves at all, only his usual confidence.

"Arrogant jerk," Mai muttered.

Yasuhara snigged.

The Noll on the screen turned left into the bedroom.

But he appeared on the screen for the bedroom on the right.

"Yasuhara, did you…?"

"What?"

"He…"

But Mai was transfixed as she watched Noll correct the camera and wave at the screen.

"Wait here," she instructed.

Before Yasuhara could say anything, Mai sprinted out of the room and up the stairs. She ran to the end of the corridor and turned left.

But the bedroom was empty.

"Naru…?" she whispered.

For a moment, she thought that fly from earlier had returned. A faint buzzing drifted into the room.

"Mai?"

Mai spun around.

"What are you doing up here?" Noll asked, coming from the other room. "I told you to remain in the base."

"I…" But Mai could not defend herself.

"Come on."

She followed Noll back to the base, aware that the buzzing sound had not entirely disappeared.

* * *

"I received a text from Yasuhara," Lin muttered.

It was well past midday, but the couple had only just got up. Madoka was making breakfast in her pyjamas while Lin was sat at the kitchen table in only his boxers.

"Really?" Madoka was surprised. "He knows you're off work, what does he want?"

"Noll took a case," Lin replied. "Yasuhara and Mai are worried. Noll didn't take anyone else."

"What?" If Madoka had been surprised before, that was nothing to now. "That idiot! Not even Takigawa? Or John?"

"Nope," Lin replied. "I think they want our intervention. He gave me the address."

"What's happening there?" Madoka asked, both curious for the care and annoyed they'd interrupted their time off.

"He just said that the spirit is imitating Noll, and it spoke to Mai," Lin said.

"Imitating Noll? Like a doppelganger?"

"Doppelgangers can't speak, though," Lin countered. "But if Noll hasn't realised that…"

"What else could it be?" Madoka mused. "I mean it must be powerful to manifest like that. But if Noll thinks it's a doppelganger, he'd want to investigate it. They are rare. Even the popular stories about them are few…"

"BSPR has no official evidence of their existence either," Lin added. "Wait, I thought that doppelgangers were death omens?"

"Yeah, in a few of the popular stories the copied person died soon after doppelganger was seen," Madoka said. Then she realised exactly what she'd just said. "Why would that idiot take SPR somewhere where there was a chance of death?"

"I imagine he thought it only a superstitious notion," Lin replied. "The evidence of such activity would have been more exciting."

"What an idiot," Madoka spat. "Now we have to break up our holiday to go and rescue his sorry arse."

"I don't think he will be sorry," Lin muttered.

"He will be if Mai or Yasuhara get hurt," Madoka said. "I'll make him sorry."

She stalked out of the room, mumbling about getting a shower.

Lin re-read the text.

If Noll thought this being was a doppelganger, he would be unaware of the potential danger of a creature imitating a doppelganger. Lin smiled a little at the thought - copying a being that copies people…

Sighing, he stood up and abandoned his breakfast. Madoka's suggestion of a shower seemed most welcome. Perhaps he would join her...

* * *

 **Author's note: Well... I don't really know what to say for this one! Other than please keep reviewing! Even one-word reviews are welcome!**


	5. Chapter 5

Yasuhara passed Mai his phone while Noll was staring at the screens again. Mai read the text and felt her body visibly relax. She passed the phone back and drank some tea.

They were on their way.

True, they were hours away, as they'd chosen to visit Kyoto on their week off. But they were coming, and somehow that made Mai feel a million times better.

Noll did not notice the change in her posture.

From Mai's observations, she'd gather that Noll was thoroughly distracted by something. He had been pacing around and disappearing from the base with little explanation only to return a minute or two later. Mai supposed that drinking all of that tea had finally caught up with his bladder.

If only the buzzing noise would go away.

After a limited dinner - of which Noll ate very little - they settled in for another night of watching the screens. Yasuhara slept first, leaving Mai and Noll in silence.

"How much longer are we planning on staying here?" Mai asked quietly, so she did not disturb Yasuhara's sleep.

"Not long," Noll replied.

"How long?"

"Once we have enough evidence," he said curtly. Mai rolled her eyes and slumped backwards. She glanced across the monitors again.

Noll flicked to the thermal cameras for a minute, before switching back.

"It's slowing down," Mai pointed out. "Ever since this afternoon, we've had nothing."

"Hmm," Noll agreed. His eyes darted from screen to screen.

And then, as if on cue, doors began slamming upstairs. The cameras fell over. Two of the feeds broke off.

Yasuhara was on his feet and ready before Mai had even reacted.

"Did I cause that?" Mai mumbled. "Is it listening?"

And as quickly as the racket had started, it stopped.

"Should we go and fix it the cameras?"

"Yes, both of you go," Noll said without glancing at them. "I will remain here."

He sounded almost mechanical. Mai wondered if Noll was finally being affected by what had been going on.

Yasuhara picked up a torch and a walkie-talkie. Mai followed him from the room, glancing back over her shoulder at Noll as she did so. Her boss was leant over the desk with his head in his hands. Was he tired? Or stressed?

Mai shook her head and bounded up the stairs after Yasuhara. The righted the camera at the top of the stairs before headed down to the two bedrooms that they'd previously had problems with.

"Could you hold the torch? The cable has come out here…" Yasuhara said. He handed Mai the torch and he reconnected the cable on the camera at the other end of the corridor. "Shall we?"

He indicated one of the bedrooms and Mai stepped in first. She picked up the knocked over camera and looked around the room. The buzzing had grown louder. Maybe there was something at this end of the house?

Sighing, she led the way to the other bedroom where the camera had been disconnected.

However, they had no sooner crossed the threshold of the bedroom than the door slammed behind them. Yasuhara rushed to push it open again. Mai pointed the light at the door.

She tried to flick on the lights. But to no avail.

"Don't!"

Yasuhara fell away from the door as if he'd been pushed.

"That was Naru's voice…"

Yasuhara pulled the walkie-talkie from his belt and was about to attempt contacting the base when it was pulled from his hands.

"Don't!"

"Naru? Is that you? Is this a prank?" Mai questioned the room.

She pulled Yasuhara to his feet and spun the light around.

"Boss wouldn't prank us," Yasuhara muttered. "Maybe it's the-"

Mai screamed.

Yasuhara spun around to where she was looking. Noll was standing by the door, holding it shut.

They blinked.

And Naru was gone.

"You saw that too right?" Mai said. Her entire body was shaking. She gripped Yasuhara's arm for comfort.

"Yeah," he replied.

"It's blocking the door," Mai whispered. "How are we going to get out?"

"Boss will come and save us," Yasuhara replied confidently. "He will have heard that scream. See if you can connect the camera up."

Mai pulled Yasuhara over to the camera and handed him the torch while she worked.

"It hasn't hurt us yet," Yasuhara added. "No reason for it to start now. Madoka and Lin are on their way. It's going to be fine."

"It won't connect. The connector is broken," Mai muttered. "And it just threw you to the floor, I wouldn't call that not hurting us!"

"I'm fine," Yasuhara insisted. He pulled Mai closer to him in an attempt to shield her, just in case the being attacked again.

"We should try and get out of here," Mai whispered. "I'll try this time."

"Stop!"

Mai froze in her attempts to move to the door.

"What wasn't you, was it?" Mai whimpered.

"No. It sounded like…"

"That thing…" the being said again. "...not me!"

"I don't know who you are," Mai said calmly. "But we mean you no harm! We want to help you move on!"

Yasuhara let Mai speak, knowing she was much more experienced in these matters than he was.

"Please, let us talk to you," she went on gently.

"Stop, Mai," the voice said. "It's repl…"

"It's weak," Yasuhara muttered under his breath. "Can we help it speak to us?"

"I don't know," Mai replied.

The buzz grew angrily in her ears and she winced.

Then there was a large knocking sound from downstairs.

"Lin and Madoka," Yasuhara said. The tension in the room evaporated. He rushed to the door and it opened easily. "Come on Mai."

They all but ran down the stairs to the base. Lin and Madoka were inside and already rebuking Noll.

"We are leaving right now," Lin said. He sounded like he was refraining from shouting. Mai noticed his hands balled up in fists. Madoka was stood beside him with her arms crossed. "This was reckless and I cannot believe you would bring those two somewhere like this!"

"What? You know what it is?" Mai asked. Lin spun around.

"We have our suspicions," Madoka answered, looking over her shoulder.

"We've just been locked in a bedroom upstairs," Yasuhara spat, uncharacteristically angry. "I think we deserve more of an answer than that. Especially after he refused to give us a straight answer for two days!" Mai nodded her agreement.

"This idiot brought you here in the hope that he could get some evidence towards the existence of doppelgangers," Madoka said. "Despite them being death omens." She shot a nasty look in Noll's direction.

"Oh…" Mai mumbled.

"But," Lin went on. "Doppelgangers cannot speak."

"But it spoke to me…" Mai said.

"And upstairs," Yasuhara said. "It was weak, but it was definitely talking."

"Which is why we think it's something worse, possibly demonic," Madoka said. "I think it is imitating Noll in an attempt to get off of the property. Chances are it's bound here somehow."

"So we will be leaving before it gets any stronger," Lin insisted. "So grab your stuff. We are leaving now."

Mai blinked before rushing into action. They packed the equipment away in supernatural speed. She could not shake the buzzing sound from her ears as she worked, but now thought it might be the demon-thing protesting their choice of leaving.

It had been weak in the bedroom, she thought, must have used up too much energy at once…

"I'll take the van with Noll and Mai," Lin said. "Madoka, you take the car with Yasuhara."

They were ready to leave the property within twenty minutes of Lin and Madoka's arrival.

Mai stood on the driveway, looking up at the victorian house that was lit by the moonlight.

"Something's wrong," she whispered.

"Mai?" Yasuhara called.

"I forgot something," she lied quickly. "I'll be back in a minute."

"She'll be fine," Noll said. "As long as I do not return, there should be no issue."

Lin looked unhappy but didn't stop Mai from running up into the house.

"I don't think you're a demon," she said. "I want to help you move on."

She walked up the stairs.

"I don't have long, let me help you."

She entered the bedroom that they'd been trapped in only half an hour previously.

The buzzing grew around her so that it filled the room.

"Don't…"

"Don't what?" Mai asked eagerly.

"...not me…"

"I don't understand," Mai said. She frowned in frustration. She wanted to help.

"...don't let it…"

"Mai? Mai, have you found it?" It was Lin.

"Crap," she swore. "I'm sorry," she added to the room. "I hope you find peace."

And with that, she sprinted away.

* * *

Noll watched the two vehicles drive away from the property. He watched the imposter in his seat. He watched Mai's eyes as she looked back in anguish.

He had not tried to follow them. He knew there was no point.

He was trapped.

* * *

 **Author's note: The End.**

 **Please review :)**


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